


Meet The Melee Weapons Specialist

by ohofchorus



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Fan TF2 Class, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mild Language, Original Character(s), also language, but not in the first couple of chapters, future violence, it just might be described, it's tf2 guys this game is all about violence, just be warned, well this happened, whops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16117916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohofchorus/pseuds/ohofchorus
Summary: The Gravel War between Redmond and Blutarch has been deadlocked for years now, and the "newest" mercenary team hasn't been able to gain a lot of ground. RED needs some new way to break the tie, and the Administrator has an idea to try and spice up the battle. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, this includes a new player on the field.And she's not afraid to tell them their place.(Basically I thought one day; "There's a Heavy Weapons Specialist, so why can't there be a Melee Weapons Specialist??? AKA I've worked way too hard on this, but I hope you read it!! NOT A SELF INSERT FIC I PROMISE!!)





	1. A New Challenger Approaches

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Thanks for stopping by and taking a peak at my story!!  
> So I've been wanting to create a fan class for TF2 for a while now, and it was honestly based on a late night, sleep induced idea I had about two years ago that refused to die out in my mind. I've been developing Melee for a while now and I think I'm finally at a good place to post and write about her!! However, for right now I'm kind of winging the chapters just to get something out. I'll probably be making a Tumblr for her so that you all can see what she actually looks like and get to know her a bit more. I'll post the link in the notes somewhere down the line for this story, but we'll just have to see! The Tumblr will also be updating with her backstory as the story progresses, so keep an eye out for any updates there, too!!
> 
> Edit from 10/16/18: Here's the Tumblr! Sorry that this took so long to get up!: https://meetthemelee.tumblr.com/
> 
> I'm also deciding not to ship her with any of the mercs or other characters in TF2. One because I'm not about that life really, but also because that's absolutely not what this story is about. You can have your own head-canons, you can think what you will, but unless everyone badgers me about it excessively there won't be any shipping involved. I want the characterization to be as close to the game/comics as possible, so shipping isn't in that equation!
> 
> (Also my formatting will get better I promise!)
> 
> Alright, that's enough from me, I think. Feel free to critique my writing, characterization, or anything narrative-wise you think I could fix, and I hope you enjoy!!
> 
> \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A small manila folder was slid to her on the cold, silver table, the woman raising an eyebrow as the other person sat down across from her. Out of the corner of the folder she could see the borders of photographs, and a paper that had a large amount of small text on it. Forest green eyes looked up to meet dark blue ones sheltered behind a pair of glasses. The woman took her feet off the table and slid her chair closer to the cool metal in order to reach the folder, flipping it open to take a closer look at what the papers said. After a minute, she took her gaze off of the wall of text to look up at the other woman at the table.

“...What is this?” Janet Clark said, leaning over the table while leaving the folder laid out on the table. She blew a particularly annoying strand of hair out of her eyes, her dark red hair tied up in a temporary ponytail. She was wearing a maroon shirt buttoned up to mid-chest, with a white t-shirt underneath, and brown pants partially obscured by her tall black boots. Around her wrists were thick silver bracelets, her sleeves rolled up to show off the small scars littered across her skin. Freckles covered her tanned cheeks, and as she brushed some hair out of her face her thumb brushed up against a scar across her cheek. She looked to Pauling for an answer, Janet looking unimpressed until she started explaining.

“This,” Miss Pauling started, “is your next assignment. We’d like you to join the RED team as a mercenary. Specifically, the team needs a Melee Weapons Specialist. Someone who could help edge them out in close combat against the BLU’s. The Administrator has heard through the grapevine that the BLU team has been looking for the same kind of talent, so we’re getting the jump on them by asking you to join.”

“P, while I appreciate your offer, I’m an assassin for hire, not cannon fodder to get slaughtered on the front lines of some meaningless Gravel War.” Janet said calmly, her back straightening in her seat. 

“Are you saying that you don’t think you could handle the challenge?” Pauling said, tilting her head to the side. Janet chuckled and shook her head.

“No, no, I don’t think that at all! It’s just that-”

“That what? You said it yourself, you’d be cannon fodder!” Pauling said sarcastically, then her tone changed as she narrowed her gaze, “The Administrator hand-picked you because of your contributions to the Pluto program, your knowledge of weapons and close combat fighting, and how you’ve helped RED out in the past, not because we thought you couldn’t hold your own against a bunch of mercenaries.” Janet sighed at this, looking down at her wrist. Her bracelet clinked against the metal as she reached for the folder again, taking another look at the photographs.

The pictures were of the bases she’d be fighting on - Janet assumed, at least. The words RED and BLU were everywhere on these damn buildings, and there was a lot of cosmetic damage on the sidings of the exteriors presumably from splash damage from bombs. There were some bullet holes in the wood and concrete, and there seemed to be a constant theme of leftover damage from battles at each of the locations. One of the locations was of two wooden buildings with a bridge connecting both areas, water below both complexes that led into what Janet could describe as a sewer system. Another location was obviously taken late at night, with a large walkway littered with boxes and crates connecting two concrete buildings themed in blues and reds. One picture, that she glanced at briefly, was two structures covered in a thick layer of snow with some cliffs and wooden cabins that had been seemingly blown apart. Not really bothering to glance at any of the other pictures of the arenas of battle, Janet turned to a picture of her potential team.

The one thing that Janet picked up on immediately was how… diverse, they were. They all looked like men putting on characters for the picture. That was also another thing that Janet clued in on, and it was one that she looked to Miss Pauling for some form of an answer.

“They’re all men?” Pauling shook her head, a couple strands of hair flying out of her somewhat neat bun as she did so.

“I mean, to the best of our knowledge. No one truly knows what Pyro identifies as, but otherwise you’d be the only female on the team.” Janet let out a soft hum as she looked back at the picture. 

It was pretty obvious who Pauling was talking about; ‘Pyro’ seemed to be the one with the mask and holding a rustic-looking flamethrower on the far left of the picture. Next to them was a man with overalls and a wrench in his hand - obviously some form of a mechanic to handle the teams technological needs. There was a curiously dressed man next to the tinkerer, however, who was wearing a suit and a balaclava. Oddly enough, he was the one that stuck out like a sore thumb in Janet’s eyes; the way he arched his back in the picture suggested a pompous attitude, like he didn’t want to be associated with his teammates. In the middle of the formation was a gargantuan mass of man holding one of the biggest “miniature” guns Janet had seen in a long time, and his facial expression said that he wasn’t afraid to use it if he needed to. However, he didn’t look like a hardened killer - it seemed to be more of an act. Shoved into the back of the men was a lanky man with a brimmed hat, sunglasses, and a sniper rifle in hand. No doubt he was the team’s sniper - his calm and collected facial expression seemed to convey that he was a serious man, judging by the surplus of frown lines on his face. Directly in front of the sniper was a younger man with a baseball hat in hand. Janet had no idea why a kid was on a mercenary team for a greedy ‘Gravel War’ between two brothers, but who was she to judge? To the back of him was a hunched over man with a maniacal smile on his face holding some form of launcher. The most notable thing about this man was his skin color, as it was much darker than the rest of the men. Actually, scratch that - he had an eyepatch over one of his eyes. This man had to be the most visually interesting man out of the line, Janet decided. Behind the odd looking launcher man was a perfectly plain mercenary with a straight back and a helmet covering his eyes. He was holding another kind of launcher, but his stature was suggesting some form of military background, but with some… “rustic” influences thrown into the mix. He didn’t seem like a proper solder per se, but he was pretty damn close. Finally, on the very end of the line was a man dressed in a pseudo lab coat holding what Janet recognized as a large bone saw. This man had a singular curl to his hair with glasses placed just so on the bridge of his nose, but the thing that caught Janet’s attention the most was the look of absolute madness behind his glasses. This man looked like he was in the war for blood, but not necessarily because he liked to spill it. No, there was some other meaning behind his expression, but Janet couldn’t pick it out from a picture.

After making her observations of the photographs, Janet looked back up at Pauling with a raised eyebrow. 

“How long has this team been together for? If they find out someone else is joining them would that mess up their dynamic? It could cause some discourse-”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Janet was taken aback by Pauling interrupting her, frowning in surprise. “Uh… okay?” Janet glanced back down at the folder before sighing and standing up from her seat. Pauling followed suit, almost jumping out of her seat and moving to smooth the skirt of her purple dress. Janet chuckled softly at this as she stuck her hand out to Pauling.

“...I’ll take the job.”

“You will? What made you change your mind?” Pauling said with a surprised tone, reaching to take Janet’s hand.

“Well, I can’t have the Administrator thinking I believe myself to be cannon fodder, now can I?” Janet said with a wink, smirking. Pauling laughed, making Janet’s cheeks tint pink as she continued, “But the team is intriguing, and I may be able to help you out with your deadlocked war. Maybe.” Janet shrugged, taking her hand back to collect the folder from the table.

“Excellent. You’ll leave for their current base tomorrow at eleven o’clock sharp. I’ll get there before you to break the news to them, and your medical records will be sent ahead of time to give Medic some time to examine them. Please read up on the papers in the packet for me?” Janet laughed and nodded.

“Anything for you, Miss Pauling.” Janet said smoothly, saluting her with her free hand before starting to walk out of the conference room. 

As the door closed behind her, Janet Clark looked down at the title of the folder with a sigh. In big bold letters, it said “MELEE WEAPONS SPECIALIST”, with a blank line for someone to put a name down for who would take on the position. Janet pressed her back up to the door, thinking about the consequences of her actions.

Just what the hell did she just get herself into?


	2. A Strange New Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here's chapter 2! I'm still working on writing the mercs, but for the first attempt in a while I think I did pretty well. Feel free to give me some critiques on it, though! I'm always up for improving.
> 
> By the way, I know I'm calling her Janet in this chapter, but in the next one I'm going to switch to calling her Melee, since the mercs will be calling her that too. Just a heads up in case it gets confusing later!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!!

The train bounded down the tracks at a vigorous speed, hitting occasional bumps that would jerk passengers around and wake them from naps at inconvenient points in their travels. Sometime kids would be running to the bathroom located towards the back of each train car, or would be playing with toys in the walkway or in between booths. Older passengers would scowl at them as they played and look for their parents, who would be more likely to be napping than watching their young.

Going unnoticed by both fellow passengers and attendants was a woman dressed in a dark purple flannel, with jeans stained with bleach and riding boots to match. As she shifted the metal bands around her wrists clinked against the seat and side of the train, the silver finish glistening in the sunlight that the window provided. Her chin rested in her hand as she stared out the window of the train, her suitcase pressed up against her side almost protectively as she mulled over her upcoming adventure. It hadn’t been a long time since she last worked with RED as an assassin for hire,but it was still weird, especially because of the nature of this particular mission. Not only that, but she hadn’t worked with members of RED on a team before, and it was starting to make her a little paranoid that she didn’t really know anything about them. Sure, she got on well with the people who worked with RED, but they were just… silly. It was like nothing mattered to them except for the end of the job. It was always bust down the door, kill as many people as possible, get the loot, get out. They didn’t care how many bullets they took - it was like death was no object to them. Janet sometimes thought she was insane, but RED operatives were a whole other kind of nutcase. Maybe a mercenary team was exactly the change of perspective she needed about the company as a whole; seeing as they had to fight a war, they had to stay alive.

Right?

Before Janet could even answer her own question, something hit her in the side of the face. In defense she jerked back and reached for the metal bracelet around her wrist, but when she turned to look at who hit her something hit the floor in front of her. Looking down closely, she saw that it was a red rubber ball.

“S-Sorry miss!” Janet’s attention was taken to someone standing in front of her row of seats - a little boy barely over ten years old. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt, slightly wrinkled around the neck, and his hair was a dirty blond. Just behind him was a little girl, probably even younger than him, with a red sundress on and blond hair in pigtails. They looked like they were related - at the very least they were cousins.   
Taking a moment to recover from the shock, Janet chuckled and reached down to grab the ball.

“It’s okay, hun. Just be mindful about the people around you, m’kay?” In response to this the little boy nodded as Janet handed him the red ball and ruffled the hair on his head. The little boy snorted, laughing as he turned around to chase after his sister, who had started taking off for the other side of the train car. 

Smiling softly, Janet leaned back in her seat and sighed as the train kept chugging along. Unlike the passengers on this train, where she was heading didn’t have cute little kids to make her smile… 

\--------------------------------------

It was times like these that made Engineer appreciate having Pyro around. In a way, it was like having a kid follow him around to make him smile… 

Engineer chuckled to himself as he glanced over at the masked merc, watching them carefully to make sure that they didn’t spill any of the egg mixture in the large glass bowl they were holding. Engineer was on breakfast duty that morning, which naturally meant the Pyro was already a step ahead in offering to assist the mechanic in any way he could. Today, Pyro had insisted in helping prep scrambled eggs and pancakes, which were honestly the easiest things to make for breakfast considering that the amount of food the duo had to make for all nine mercenaries holed up on the base. Not only that, but despite it being around nine-thirty in the morning Engineer wasn’t fully ready to dive into something requiring a whole lot of brain power - especially considering that it was the weekend, which meant that there was no battle for the next two days.

As the two plugged away at food, Engineer could sense that some of the boys were trickling into the room. Sniper came through the front door for obvious reasons - his van was in the green space just outside of the main building of RED base, and seeing as his coffee maker had been busted for the past week he had to get his daily coffee from the machine in the kitchen. On any normal day no one would probably see the Australian until around noon, seeing as he had no real reason to come into the base for the morning besides a decent meal if he was up for it. The man was as reclusive as Scout was talkative, and that was saying something.

Engineer caught a glimpse of a white shirt, and out of curiosity he turned to see that Medic had walked in with a file folder in hand, his nose practically brushing against the paper as he walked over the the kettle at the stove to make a cup of tea. Pyro had already put the water on and laid out the cup and tea bag for Medic - upon Engineer’s suggestion of course. Medic barely registered how close the countertop was as he practically ran into it, Engineer pausing as he heard Scout cackle on the other side of the room. Medic, in a moment of surprise and also frustration, muttered a swear in what Engineer could only guess was German as he closed the folder to begin making his tea.

“You alright there, doc?” Engineer said hesitantly, sensing that Medic wasn’t in the best of moods.

“Ja, fine, just studying.”

“Studying what? For a test?” Engineer said puzzled, frowning.

“The real question you should be asking is who, laborer,” A disembodied voice said just to the left of Medic, a floating cigarette hovering a foot away or so from Medic’s face. The German rolled his eyes and took the tea bag on the counter to put it into an empty cup to pour water in. Engineer shook his head and grabbed a dish towel, tossing it to the space next to Medic. The towel stopped in mid air, a silhouette came into view before details revealed it to be Spy, smirking with a cigarette in one hand and the towel in another.

“Now what on earth are you talking about? Who would Medic have to read up on?” Engineer said, returning to the matter at hand.

“We have a new mercenary being added to the team, supposedly to assist us on the battlefield.” Spy said frankly, placing the towel on the counter before reaching for the file Medic had been reading from. Medic instinctively grabbed it before he could, holding it to his chest while glaring at Spy.

“...You know I’ve already read this file, correct?”

“Patient confidentiality, Spy.” At this Spy backed off, shrugging before moving to walk towards the table.

“Wait, so we’re getting ANOTHER dude living with us?” Scout practically yelled from the area beyond the kitchen, standing up from a chair in the lounge area to join in on the conversation.

“Yes, she’s coming today, actually.” Medic said bluntly, moving to sit on the opposite side of the table from Spy to keep him from looking into the file.

“You mean ‘he’, right doc?” Engineer tried to correct, frowning even more. At this Medic perked up, taking his eyes off of the file to look at the mechanic.

“Hm? Oh no, I meant she.” After stating this, Medic went back to reading the file. 

Silence filled the room. The couple of mercenaries sitting in the lounge area perked up and tuned in as Scout and Engineer stared in disbelief at Medic.

“...Really?” Scout said, looking to Spy for any form of confirmation. Spy glanced up at Scout, feeling a pair of eyes on him. 

“It would seem so.” Scout opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Soldier shoving him to the side.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” Soldier exclaimed, helmet spinning around almost completely as he clenched his fists. “I won’t have this team be taken out from the inside-out by some sissy woman! This is a battlefield, dammit! She doesn’t have the proper clearance!” 

“Fortunately for everyone else, you’re not in charge.” Spy countered, rolling his eyes as he looked back at Soldier.

“We’ll see about THAT when this “she” makes it to base, maggot!”

Engineer sighed in exasperation at this, choosing to turn to the stove to keep from getting involved. Pyro, having been unfazed by all of the conversation, was happily pouring the egg mixture into a pan to start cooking them, reminding Engineer about what he was really standing there for.

He could deal with the drama after breakfast was done, at the very least… 

\--------------------------------------

The break from chatter about the new mercenary wasn’t as long as Engineer would have hoped, considering that about an hour after the carnage of breakfast making was cleaned up Miss Pauling showed up at the base.

Scout of course was a rambling mess, as he usually was whenever Miss Pauling did a check up, but usually those visits were planned and his constant blabber was just excited jitters. This time, however, it seemed that everyone but Spy and Medic were out of the loop that Miss Pauling would be making an appearance. Everyone seemed to be on edge, not just Scout.

“So, when will she be gettin’ here?” Engineer chimed in, the side chatter dying down once he spoke. Miss Pauling had decided when she arrived that they should talk in the conference room - or the “War Room” as Soldier would call it when he called meetings. The mercenaries were all sitting down in seats while Miss Pauling was standing at the front of the room, almost like a teacher teaching a class.

“She should be getting of the train at Teufort in about two hours. Bidwell is waiting to drive her here from there, so she’ll be on base in two and a half hours.” Miss Pauling explained, opening her mouth again to start speaking, but was interrupted by Sniper.

“And how much experience does she have with this kind-a thing?” The Aussie said, frowning as he leaned back in his seat.

“You mean mercenary work?” Miss Pauling asked, which Sniper gave a definite nod to as an answer. “She’s worked with RED for years for missions that required a bit more… finesse. She’s an assassin for hire, and she got her start with a branch of RED based in assassin work. She might not have as much ‘battlefield experience’,” Miss Pauling quoted with her fingers, “but she’s very good at adapting to different situations. Her settling into a work ethic shouldn’t be a problem.”

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Sniper nodded once more and relaxed into his seat.

“Wait, wait, wait, so I gotta question,” Scout started, looking at Miss Pauling. “So, Miss Pauling - by the way, great hair! Did you do something different with it-”

“Scout, please.”

“Right, right, right - sorry - this chick would be living on base with us, yeah? Wouldn’t that be a little… awkward?” Engineer blinked in surprise at this, considering that it seemed to be a well-thought out question. It was odd coming from Scout - he didn’t often think before he spoke, and judging by Miss Pauling’s answer she seemed to think so as well.

“Good question Scout, and I don’t think I have a clear answer for you on that.” Miss Pauling started, shrugging. “The only thing I can offer you is that from what I’ve gathered, she doesn’t care. She’s a professional, so she’s used to being in uncomfortable situations. This shouldn’t be any different, and I’m sure it’ll get better with time.” Scout also seemed pacified with this answer, and nodded as if he was in thought. Miss Pauling waited a minute for anyone else to speak.

When no one did, she hummed softly on a single note before speaking again.

“Well, if no one else has any questions then I guess we’re done here for now. We’ll reconvene when she gets here, so hang tight guys.”

\--------------------------------------

As the car slowed to a stop, Janet glanced out the darkened window to see one of the bases from the pictures in the file Pauling had given her. There seemed to be a larger complex behind the main battlefield - Janet figured that it was the living quarters for the team. From the front seat Janet heard Bidwell sigh almost in relief as he parked the car. He looked back at her with a smile on his face.

“Alright, we’re here. Ready?” Janet contemplated it for a couple seconds, then nodded.

“Yeah, I think so. Let’s do this.” Bidwell grinned at this, opening his door to get out of the car.

“That’s the spirit. Want me to take your suitcase?”

“Nah, I’ve got it. Thanks though.” Janet said as she opened her door, reaching for the suitcase on the floor next to her in the car. She stepped out, stretching her back as her knees ached. She needed to exercise as soon as she introduced herself, because if she didn’t she wouldn’t be getting out of bed in the morning. The thought made her chuckle to herself silently as Bidwell started leading her towards the main entrance to the base. Her heart pounded as they reached the door, Janet not really paying attention to anything but her feet as they did so. Why was she getting so nervous about this? It was just a group of guys who were probably somewhat psychotic and that killed people for a living - Well, that explains why she was so nervous.

Janet took a deep breath as Bidwell reached for the door handle, trying to stop her heart from beating out of its chest as the door swung open by itself-

Wait, what?

Frozen in place as Bidwell was dragged into the building, Janet watched as nine pairs of eyes stopped on her, while one pair was solely focused on restraining a thoroughly panicked Bidwell. The bulky man was wearing a helmet and was shouting something along the lines of, “What is your security clearance!?” and “You can’t be our new recruit, stinking maggot!” just long enough for another man with an eyepatch to come over and pry him off of Bidwell. Janet looked up at the rest of the room and rose a hand to wave at them timidly.

“Uh… Well then… Nice to meet you guys too.”

This was going to be one wild ride.


End file.
